Jumping for Joy

Wednesday was an awesome day. I woke up to news that State Senator Wendy Davis's filibuster against an egregious antiabortion bill in the Texas Senate actually worked. Feeling cheery and optimistic, I decided to wear this crazy Asos neon shirt dress I got from Gwynnie Bee.

I'd slept with my hair in buns Tuesday nights with the hopes I'd acheive beachy waves, and it actually worked! 

Outfit: Dress- Asos Curve via Gwynnie Bee; Sandals- old Payless similar; Belt- thrifted

A women's rights victory, a bright dress, and beachy wavy hair Could this day get any better?

Well, yes. Before I'd even finished my morning coffee the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, is unconstitutional. DOMA kept legally married same-sex spouses from getting federal benefits allotted to other married couples. The federal government has finally recognized that love is love. and that makes me want to jump for joy. 

While that decision, and the decision regarding California's Prop 8 don't make same sex marriage a constitutional right, they are certainly a step in the right direction. Hopefully we'll see more states join Massachusetts, Maryland, and co. in recognizing that love is love, no matter your gender. 

Feeling a Little HOT Pink

Here's some neon/ hot pink that I wore on a very hot Monday. 

My mom was married to a military man for most of my childhood, so we moved around a lot. As a result I spent most of my life in South Texas (on the Gulf) and in Southern Maryland. I'm no stranger to heat and humidity...so you'd think I could hack a New England heat wave, right? WRONG! There are several things that I deem essential to summer that are missing here. 1. Air Conditioning- I live in a 3rd floor walk up with absolutely no AC, not even window units! 2. Ceiling fans. Until I moved to Boston I'd never had a bedroom without a ceiling fan! 4. Swimming. There aren't a lot of places to swim in Boston. No one I know has access to a pool, and the city beaches are mostly icky. 

Long story short, I have been miserable the past few days. I didn't get a blog post up yesterday because it was so hot in my apartment I didn't want to turn my laptop on! Also the shininess I have in this picture probably isn't from my bronzer. I was sweating before I even walked out the door. 

Outfit:

Neon Top: Old Navy

Skirt: old from Marshall's or TJ Maxx  

Sandals: Payless

Necklace and earrings: H&M

Belt: thrifted at Buffalo Exchange

Dress Dilemma, Cable Dilemma, Girls Dilemma

I love dresses. I feel I look my best in dresses, I love feeling feminine and pretty, and they're just easier. It's one piece! However dresses present a problem as a fashion blogger. How in the heck do I style the same dress in unique ways? I'm still trying to figure that out. In the mean time here is my bright yellow dress for the third time on this blog (also seen here and here). This time with a thicker belt and some flat sandals.

I was unhappy with my lack of posts last week. I am not going to apologize, because I don't think that bloggers should feel like they HAVE to post, but I am going to say that I really would have liked to share this outfit, and a few others with you sooner. Due to roommates moving in and out of my apartment I was without cable and internet for a few days. It was all worth it though, because now we have free HBO for a month!

When we got the cable back Friday night I proceeded to watch all of HBO's Girls on demand. It is so good! I couldn't stop watching and watched all 10 half hour episodes within about 14 hours. I will be the first to admit that I have a bit of an addictive personality when it comes to tv. Whenever I get sucked into a new series that has been out for a while, I proceed to watch every episode ever made, sometimes spending 8 or 9 hours straight watching. It's terrible! This is the reason I'm hesitant to check out Downtown Abbey, MadMen, Modern Family, or any other awesome show I'm not watching that has lots of seasons readily available on Hulu or Netflix. Could be dangerous. I might never leave my house again!

Outfit:
Dress: Old Navy
Belt: Forever 21
Sandals: Payless
Necklace: a gift

Do you ever do marathons of tv shows?

Wild

Tuesday night I headed to a Spitfire event hosted by BostonGLOW. The event was focused on navigating the professional world, and I found it really helpful! I know that there are a lot of things I need to work on professionally to build up my confidence and make sure I'm not selling myself short. 

I absolutely love the Spitfire events. They're a great way to connect with other women, and to talk about issues that are important to me. Being involved with GLOW gives me the same sense of a strong community of women that I had through the various clubs and activities I was involved in in college. I'm taking on a little more of a leadership role in the organization this year. One of the potential Spitfires we're planning is going to be focused on balancing fashion, beauty, and being feminine with feminist/ egalitarian ideals. It would be great to get some Boston area bloggers involved, so I'll keep you posted!

I've worn this necklace about a dozen times since I bought it at the beginning of the month. The colors match a lot of my summer clothes and it is the perfect piece to spice up neutral outfits. I picked up this leopard print tank at goodwill a few weeks ago. It's super 80s, and about an inch away from being a crop top, but I love it! 

Outfit:

Tank: thrifted

Cardigan: Old Navy

Necklace: H&M

Pants: Target

Neon Pattern Mixing

I was really excited that this month's theme for Everybody, Everywear is Neon. I just bought this cardigan at Target last week and I was planning to wear it with a navy dress, but the EBEW challenge made me change my mind and layer it with my trusty yellow lace blouse.

I have a thing for cardigans, and when I find a style that I like on sale I buy multiple colors. I also purchased this cardigan in solid coral and white. 

Outfit:

Cardigan: Target (I got it on sale for $15!)

Blouse: H&M Conscious Collection

Skirt: thrifted

Sandals: Payless

Belt: Target

Necklace: gift

A Little Bit of Sunshine

This week has been a tough one for me. Work was stressful, I didn't get a lot of sleep, and the kitty has not been adjusting well to all the changes in the apartment. Then to make matters worse, my auntie Carolyn passed away this morning. She was my grammy's sister and I spent a lot of time at her house when I was a little girl.  She was a hard working single mom, an amazing cook, talented gardener, and one of the funniest people I have ever met. I haven't seen her in a few years, since she retired to Florida, but she'd call me each year on my birthday. Thankfully, my grammy was able to travel to Florida to spend some time with her sister this week.

I know it's silly, but it's amazing how clothes can drastically change my mood. Thursday morning the sun started to peak out, and the forecast only called for scattered showers so I grabbed this bright sundress and my mood was instantly elevated.

This dress is going to be one of my favorites this summer. It hits me right at the knee and it has short sleeves, so I can wear it to work on really hot days without having to layer anything over it! Since Thursday was nice and cool I decided to go a little neon and layer it with my bright yellow cardi. I stuck with nude flats because there was more than enough color in the dress.

Outfit:
Dress: Old Navy
Cardigan: Old Navy two years ago
Flats: Payless
Earrings: H&M

Sorry for starting this post off on a sad note. Carolyn's passing was expected, she's been sick for a while and now she's at peace. I am thankful to have had her in my life and I'm so ready for the weekend.

Bootleg and Bold

Since my beau and I are moving into an apartment with really limited closet space, I've been trying scale down my closet. I have about 4 garbage bags full of clothes to be swapped or donated, and a few more pieces in my closet that I'm on the fence about. I've purged a lot of jeans that I just don't wear any more. I'm on the fence about this pair of jeans. I haven't worn them in about a year so I decided to take them out for a spin on a casual  Friday to see if I want to keep them or not. 

I've decided the jeans are staying for now. I loved pairing them with my new statement necklace from H&M. I've been trying to add more personality to my collection of accessories, but I don't like to spend a lot of money on my jewelry. Places like H&M are great when you want something on trend, but don't want to spend a lot. This necklace was only $8, and look at those colors!

Outfit:

Cardigan: H&M men's

Blouse: H&M Conscious Collection

Jeans: Levis 545 bootcut (I think I got them at Macy's?)

Necklace: H&M

Flats: Payless

Do you wear bootcut jeans? Any tips for styling them?

Swap 'til You Drop

Wednesday was a really busy day for me, so I wanted an effortless outfit. When I want effortless I always reach for a dress. This is the version of my outfit I wore to the Fiesta Swap event hosted by the Swapaholics. For work I opted for flats and a cardi (like I did here). 

I had a lot of fun at the swap. I am still a little timid/ shy around big groups of bloggers, but I'm getting a little better at introducing myself and starting conversations. Maybe after a few more events I'll be an old pro?

I came away from the swap with 4 new pieces. Unfortunately, I won't be able to wear one of the items (it's a romper that I mistook for a blouse), but I will definitely be wearing the lacy beige dress and hot pink beaded  angora cardigan I scored from Sara very soon!

Outfit:
Dress: Old Navy
Jacket: JCrew via Goodwill
Shoes: Payless last year
Belt: H&M
Necklace: gift

Have you had any luck at clothes swaps?

Get your GLOW on.

This outfit is from last Tuesday. What can I say? I'm running a bit behind. However, I had to share this outfit because I wore it to a very special event. The awards dinner for Boston Glow's Ignite Change Essay Contest. I'm serving as a mentor for one of this year's winners!

Boston GLOW is a young, but mighty nonprofit founded by my dear friend Leah. GLOW stands for Girls Leadership, Organized Women and the mission of Boston GLOW is just that- female empowerment at it's finest! The Ignite Change contest challenged young women in Boston to identify a problem in their community and propose an actionable solution. 

I had the great pleasure of reading most of the essays and I was so inspired by the vision and optimism these young women have. It really gives me hope for the future. The 10 finalists each got a netbook and scholarship prize as well as goodie bags with books from published female authors who were the judges for the contest. 

Look at me with my awesome mentee, Fatima! (Please excuse my puffy face. The picture was taken at about 9pm after a long day of work at the height of my hayfever!)

Outfit:

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Old Navy

Flats: Payless

Necklace: Eloquii

I leave you with my favorite quote from Fatimah's essay:

"Only when girls unite together to confront and change the 'weak-princess/perfect girl' stereotype will the role of girls in society change....Women should build confidence and support for each other to be successful."

Weekly Wishlist: Neon Accessories

I am seeing a lot of neon in stores and on bloggers these days. I don't think I'm bold enough to wear neon pants or a neon dress, but I am loving neon accessories. What an easy way to add a pop of color and brightness to an outfit! Here are a few bright accessories for $20 or less!

Image: Forever21.com

Woven Neon Shoulder Bag- Forever21 $19.80

I love a good cross body bag. I take public transit everywhere and using a cross-body bag allows me to to keep my hands free to read something on my phone, tap my transit card, hold my coffee, or just hold on.

Image: target.com

Coral Neon Slap Watch: Target $9.99

I absolutely loved slap bracelets as a kid. When I found some slap watches at Target the other day I couldn't help but feel nostalgic. I slapped a few of them onto my wrist and felt like I was in 4th grade all over again! I resisted the urge to buy one, but if they'd had this neon coral color I don't think I could have resisted.

Image: etsy.com

Neon Green Infinity Scarf: Forgotten Cotton Etsy Shop $20

I recently discovered the Forgotten Cotton shop via a pin on Pinterest. I think I may have to order from them soon. All of the scarves, necklaces and other accessories are made from upcycled jersey. 

Image: forever21.com

ZigZag Ring Set: Forever21 $3.80

These rings are so bright and fun (and cheap!)

What are your thoughts on neon? Too bold? Too 80s? Totally awesome?